CECOM seeks staff, subscriber fees and grants as Cochise County work session outlines path to self-sufficiency

Cochise County supervisors on May 1 heard a budget presentation on CECOM, the countys regional public-safety communications partnership, that outlined plans to increase staffing, change subscriber fees and pursue state grant funding to move the center toward self-sufficiency.

Tammy Jo Wilkins, executive director of CECOM, told the Board of Supervisors at a work session in Bisbee that the center handled about 127,405 calls for service in the most recent year and that 911 call volume was up year-over-year; as of the Monday before the meeting she said the center had recorded 66,615 total calls and 17,009 911 calls and was "on track to beat these numbers in the next year." The presentation included staffing, equipment and grant requests for fiscal 2025-26.

The presentation is significant because Cochise County and the city of Sierra Vista currently underwrite most unresolved budget shortfalls for CECOM; county and city officials said expanding the subscriber base and standardizing fees would reduce that burden. The board discussed how new subscriber revenue and a possible change to the joint governance structure could allow CECOM to operate as a separate legal entity and reduce county and city administrative support over time.

CECOM operations and staffing: Wilkins said the center is adding dispatch positions and expects to reach about 19 on-staff dispatchers (including trainees) by July 1 if background checks and hiring proceed as planned. The center has increased training requirements, including crisis negotiation training for dispatchers, and has added four new 911 consoles funded in the last budget cycle at a reported cost of $130,000. Wilkins said HR functions transferred from the city to Cochise County in January and that transition has shortened recruitment timelines.

Subscriber fees and prospective partners: The CECOM leadership briefed the board on a new subscriber-fee model approved by the JPA (joint powers agreement) that will bill agencies $16 per call, calculated quarterly from calls-for-service in the Spillman records management system. Wilkins said the center is negotiating subscriber agreements with Fort Huachuca (estimated to contribute about $120,000 if it joins part time) and has had interest from Graham County and Santa Cruz County. Officials said Douglas and Benson are the other public-safety answering points (PSAPs) in the county, with Douglas serving as an established backup PSAP; Benson currently maintains its own PSAP under an existing contract.

Grants, systems and capital: Wilkins said CECOM submitted a State of Arizona 911 grant request totaling $295,572 to fund equipment for consoles across CECOM, Douglas and Benson. The grant application also included items tied to the centers text-to-911 contract and a request of $24,000 for a VEP/GIS-capacity system that supports mapping inside the Spillman and VESTA 911 platforms. Wilkins identified ongoing vendor and maintenance costs including Motorola maintenance (listed in the presentation) and routine IT and supplies costs; she said the overall budget request rose modestly from the prior year—about $165,000 in net increase as presented.

Requests to the county: Wilkins said she has requested funding for an administrative assistant and five additional dispatchers to prepare for possible subscriber growth (for example, a full Graham County subscription). The dollar figure cited during the meeting was unclear in the transcript; Wilkins discussed the staffing request and indicated additional budget authority would be needed if the center exceeded its current authorized positions and required expansion. Board and staff comments emphasized the need to confirm infrastructure, radio and tower arrangements before taking on entire jurisdictions.

Board and partner comments: Supervisors and local officials praised CECOMs progress and standardized policies across participating agencies (previously, agencies had used varying procedures). Supervisor remarks noted that the countys contribution has been fiscally stable in recent years, and county staff said moving more administrative functions back to Cochise County was intended to streamline operations. County staff also cautioned that achieving full self-sufficiency likely will take several years and would require structural changes to the current governance agreement.

Next steps and uncertainty: Officials said the new subscriber-fee model does not take effect until the next fiscal year, and that subscriber agreements and any structural governance changes (including converting CECOM to a separate legal entity) will require additional board and city council actions and time to implement. No formal motions or votes were taken at the work session; the item was informational and intended to guide upcoming budget decisions.

Two direct quotations from the presentation: Tammy Jo Wilkins, executive director of CECOM, said, "We're on track to beat these numbers in the next year." Chief Heiser, operations chair for CECOM's operations committee, told the board, "The model took a heavy lift at first, but now we're there," praising the center's progress.

The board did not take formal action during the work session. Staff said they will return to the board with budget requests, subscriber agreements and any draft governance changes as those items are developed.